When a little one is born it is not uncommon for us to use the sentiment “Welcome to the world, little one!”  Of course that is true, although the welcome is to be extended so much further beyond those fingers and toes that are taking in air and breathe for the first time.  The welcome is for the mother who embarks upon experiencing an exhaustion and simultaneous flood of invigoration for this child that she would do anything for… even wake at otherwise uninviting hours of the night.  The welcome is for the father who ventures into an unknown tenderness and fragility that leaves him nurturing and protective all in one breathe.  To welcome a child means to welcome a discovery of self, and in that, a love that grasps you more tightly because it requires a sacrifice of what you have until now known.  So mom, dad, little one… welcome.